Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,749
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$9,031
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,876
Massachusetts costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Massachusetts — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$46,780
Kept after tax
$37,749
Worth in national money
$34,876
State rank
3
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $46,780, which ranks 3 of 46 states with published figures. That is about 12.45% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Massachusetts, this one sits low: 399 of 485 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $46,780, tax leaves $37,749 — and because Massachusetts is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $34,876 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $45,510.
- Massachusetts ranks 3 of 46 states publishing a median for personal care and service workers, all other, at $46,780 — about 12.45% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Personal care and service workers, all other occupies position 399 of 485 in Massachusetts's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After tax, $37,749 remains from the Massachusetts median of $46,780 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $34,876 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $45,510 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,300 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,780 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,490 |
| This salary | $46,780 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Massachusetts | $37,749 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,768 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,048 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $44,267 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,315 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of personal care and service workers, all other in Massachusetts earn under $46,780 and half over. The published range runs $37,300 at the tenth percentile to $50,490 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Massachusetts's $37,749, worked from $46,780. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 399 of 485.
- One number stands for prices across all of Massachusetts, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $34,876, the adjusted value of that $46,780 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 399 of 485 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for personal care and service workers, all other in Massachusetts, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,300 to $50,490; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Massachusetts take-home of $37,749, on $46,780 for work ranking 399 of 485 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 399 of 485 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Massachusetts, so $34,876 — the adjusted value of that $46,780 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 399 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,300 at the bottom tenth to $50,490 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $34,876 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Massachusetts adds its own income tax on top — which is why $37,749 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 46 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,300 to $50,490) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Massachusetts rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Massachusetts's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $34,876 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $37,749 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Massachusetts income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.